1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable terminal, and more particularly to a portable terminal with a position-variable display capable of producing images in a wide format and a long format.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a portable terminal is a communication device allowing a user to transmit and receive a voice signal to and from another user anywhere in the world. Because information and communication technologies have rapidly developed, range of uses for portable terminals have expanded. For example, portable terminals are capable of accessing the Internet and receiving television (TV) signals. They are also capable of photographing still or dynamic objects and transmitting and receiving photographed images to and from another user. Due to the various functions of the portable terminal, technology for displaying image information has become important. Therefore, research and development of image displaying technologies has been active.
Referring to FIG. 1, a portable terminal comprises a main body 100 for inputting information and controlling communication, a folder 200 having a display 210 for outputting the information as an image, a hinge coupling module 300 for hinge-coupling the folder 200 to the main body 100 so that the folder 200 may be folded onto the main body 100, a rotating module 400 disposed at the hinge coupling module 300 and the folder 200 for rotating the folder 200 around an axis lying parallel with the length of the folder 200, a microphone unit 110 mounted on the main body 100, and a speaker unit 220 mounted on the folder 200.
The main body 100 comprises a main body casing 120 forming the outer appearance of the main body 100, a plurality of function keys 130 arranged on a surface of the main body casing 120, and circuit components mounted inside the main body casing 120. A battery 140 is detachably coupled to a side of the main body 100. The folder 200 comprises a folder casing 230 for externally exposing the display 210 and a plurality of circuit components mounted inside the folder casing 230. The speaker unit 220 is mounted on the folder casing 230 at the upper portion of the display 210.
The display 210 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen formed in a rectangular shape, wherein the length direction of the display 210 is identical to the length direction of the folder 200. The hinge coupling module 300 has a hinge axis for coupling the main body 100 to the folder 200. A camera 150 is mounted on the hinge axis.
When the portable terminal is not in use, but is carried by the user, the folder 200 may be folded onto the surface of the main body 100 where the function keys 130 are installed. When the user uses the portable terminal, the user opens the folder 200 from the main body 100. After opening, the folder 200 may be angularly rotated by using the hinge coupling module 300 disposed at one side of the main body 100 as an axis, wherein the length direction of the angularly-rotated folder 200 is positioned approximately on the same line as the length direction of the main body 100. In addition, the length direction of the display 210 coupled to the folder 200 is also positioned approximately on the same line as the length direction of the main body 100. When the user holds the main body 100 and watches the display 210 so that the front surface of the main body 100 can be positioned in front of the user, an image displayed on the display 210 is outputted on a long screen having a relatively smaller horizontal length than a vertical length.
When the user transmits and receives voice information to and from another user, the user uses the microphone unit 110 mounted on the main body 100 and the speaker unit 220 mounted on the folder 200. The speaker unit 220 can provide voice information such as songs or bell sounds.
Additionally, when the user watches television or observes other image information, such as a movie through the Internet, the user may select a wide screen format having a relatively larger horizontal length than a vertical length for vividness of images. In such a case, when the folder 200 is folded onto the main body 100, the folder 200 may first be rotated from the main body 100 by approximately 90° using the hinge coupling module 300 as an axis. Subsequently, the folder 200 may then be rotated by approximately 90° using the rotating module 400 as an axis.
The front surface of the folder 200 rotated by approximately 90° using the rotating module 400 is positioned approximately parallel to the side surface of the main body 100, wherein the length direction of the folder 200 is approximately perpendicular to the front surface of the main body 100. In addition, the display 210 fixedly coupled to the folder 200 is positioned approximately parallel to the side surface of the main body 100, wherein the length direction of the display 210 is approximately perpendicular to the front surface of the main body 100.
Accordingly, when the user holds the main body 100 so that the side surface of the main body 100 is positioned in front of the user, the length direction of the display 210 is positioned in the horizontal direction of the user. An image outputted to the display 210 is in a wide format having a relatively larger horizontal length and a vertical length, which is suitable for the position of the display 210.
The main body 100 comprises a sensing module for sensing the position of the folder 200 and an image output corrector for changing the position of the output image according to the position of the folder 200 sensed by the sensing module. For example, when the position of the folder 200 is changed from a long format to a wide format or vice versa, the position of the output image is changed according to the changed position of the folder 200. Therefore, a slanted, inverse or otherwise skewed screen image is never displayed on the display 210 despite having a changed position of the folder 200. Thus, the user can conveniently enjoy the image.
Furthermore, when the user inputs still or dynamic image information using the camera 150, the user can input wide format image information having a relatively larger horizontal length than a vertical length by positioning the length direction of the display 210 in the horizontal direction.
As described above, when the user watches a movie or television programming through the portable terminal, the user can watch a wide format image having a relatively large horizontal length as well as a long format image having a relatively large vertical length, and is thus provided with better services.
However, operation of the wide format can be problematic in the portable terminal. For example, in order to view a wide format image, the folder 200 which the display 210 is fixedly coupled to must first be rotated by approximately 90° using the hinge coupling module 300 as an axis and then rotated by approximately 90° using the rotating module 400 as an axis. Further, the user must rotate the main body 100 by approximately 90° so that the side surface of the main body 100 is positioned in front of the user in order to have an unobstructed view of the screen.
Another problem arises because the portable terminal cannot stand alone while in the wide format configuration. Hence, while the user watches the wide screen, the user must hold the portable terminal. This causes discomfort in the user, especially when the user is watching a movie or observing an image for a lengthy amount of time. Accordingly, if the user happens to drop the portable terminal due to fatigue, components of the portable terminal will be damaged because of the portable terminal's relatively low structural integrity resulting from the folder 200 being positioned vertically to the main body 100. Therefore, the user's enjoyment of the portable terminal is lessened.